Commuters lift train off man trapped in gap - video

About 50 passengers tilt train to release man trapped after failing to mind the gap

A man who slipped into the gap between a train carriage and the platform has been freed by fellow commuters who rocked the train back to release him.

Scores of passengers leant against the train to help free the man, who had fallen and become trapped as he was boarding a train in Stirling bound for the Western Australian capital of Perth.

Transport spokesman David Hynes told the ABC: "He stood in the doorway and as he was sort of taking up his position there, one leg slipped outside the door, slipped outside the gap, and he was stuck. We alerted the driver, made sure the train didn't move.

"Our staff who were there at the time got the passengers, and there were lots of them, off the train, and organised them to sort of rock, tilt the train backwards away from the platform so they were able to get him out and rescue him."

According to one witness, the man was treated by paramedics but was not badly hurt and was able to catch a later train.

The witness told The Guardian that it made him reassess the warning to "mind the gap".

"It’s not something you sort of think about or really take seriously," he said. "I always thought it was a bit of a joke but now, yeah, you kind of do."